Dal'felo Spire
The Dal'felo Spire is the largest elf-made structure in Ashal'Thalas, and serves as the traditional seat of the Lord of House of Firesong whom hold longstanding hereditary rule over the small, isolated Quel'Thalas region of Ashal'Thalas. The spire has been long managed by its trusted keeper, Caretaker Ala'nairi Direnni. Presently occupied by Lord Paramount Entilzha Firesong, the Dal'felo Spire stands atop the strongest ley nexus in Ashal'Thalas, deep in the Central Highlands forest, and generally only accessed by teleportation though Ranger trails are established from settlements as Bal'adeni and Belore'aran. Bearing cosmetic and some functional resemblance with the Dawnstar Spire, the towering structure has been renovated and expanded upon countless times in the thousands of years its served as home to the Mage-Lords of Ashal'Thalas, with formal banquet and audience chambers on the lower level, a luxurious private residence complex and secretive magical workshop higher up in the tower, with access only at the discretion of the Lord of Ashal'Thalas, and generally seen by few. The Spire means much to Entilzha Firesong, as it did to his father Xarian and countless Lords of his line before, serving as both home and the center of family life, and the heart of Firesong political and magical power. History While early records are scant, carvings in the lowermost chambers attribute the earliest construction at the spire site to Solanar Firesong I, the heir of the revered Lord Bailas Firesong, whom from his seat in Vash'jir led House Firesong to prominence among the Highborne, and distant enough from Zin-Azshari, assured key family members including Solanar and Matriarch A'malia Firesong were free of Queen Azshara's spells, and entered the War of the Ancients on the side of the Kaldorei resistance. Solanar carried the heavy legacy of his late father, slain by his own blade to avoid the naga curse, with him to Quel'Thalas, and focused his efforts on a forest ley junction as Ashal'Thalas began to form under his deeply traditional mother, A'malia, whom established the capital Bal'adeni and Sanctum of Elune drawing elves reluctant to abandon all of their prior beliefs to the secluded enclave, accessible only by sea, portal, or a difficult mountain passing to the rest of Quel'Thalas. Solanar was pleased to see his family's noble heritage being re-established, though he himself embraced his arcane birthright as deeply as any elf, having trained in Suramar and Zin-Azshari, served the Empire as an Arcanist before the Legion arrived. With ley energies amplified by the nascent Sunwell and the mighty Thas'alah transforming into the legendary tree all Quel'dorei knew so well, Solanar surveyed a number of regions on the outer fringes of Quel'Thalas, seeking the most promising ley activity. In what would become Ashal'Thalas, Solanar found a point in which the powerful leyflow which leads through the modern Dawnstar Spire and East Sanctum intersects a mighty east-west flow. The arcane was in the air at the site that would become the Dal'felo Spire, and while sadly no image of Solanar's original construction exists, records suggest he used ley siphoning techniques learned in Suramar to create vast arcane availability. Sealing a liberal section of forest around the small structure to all but guards and personally selected magisters, Solanar imbued the Drassil'felo'aseasl, the fiery crown which serves as the hereditary regalia of House Firesong's Mage Lords, from that early spire, and the powerful fire enchantments on the crown still worn by Entilzha Firesong are a testament to the strength of the tower in Solanar's time, if it was likely much smaller. Construction continued during the reigns of successive Lords, as aristocratic ways began flourishing once more, grand banquet halls were added, and suitably grand private chambers and overlooks of the pristine woodland surrounding the Spire at its top. Much of the inner spire remains devoted to magical work, but as the private workshop of House Firesong's Lord, little is known of operations save that the energies of the spire can be harnesses to empower golems of impressive size and strength. The Dal'felo Spire produces all arcane golems constructed in Ashal'Thalas, though what other research is conducted there remains a mystery. However with so many skilled arcanists over so many centuries each adding their personal touches to the spire, there isn't an inch of it that bears no magic, and the spire, assessed often through red orbs, is said to have an arcane consciousness, not unlike, but also far from identical to that of an elemental. The Spire played a role in the defense of Ashal'Thalas during the Troll Wars under the command of Lord Arcanist Lor'saniel Firesong II, according to Arkhana'dorah records with the spire serving as a ley conduit to pylons constructed along the Amani-facing south coast, which generated a large shield to bolster provincial defenses and halt troll incursions into Firesong lands and any rish of the Amani outflanking the elfgates and reaching Silvermoon from the eastern coast. The Spire's arcane systems only respond to a Mage-Lord of House Firesong, though how this is determined is unclear. While the scourge never penetrated into the heartland of Ashal'Thalas, when they pushed into lands not far to the north, the Spire shone day and night with mighty wards as it launched waves of golems and fired a large arcane-pulse weapon fitted its top to destroy scourge targets several miles away. Lord Xarian Firesong fell in the Scourge attack, his son Entilzha at the Sunwell and unable to make it back for several months. However defensive systems were activated to halt an undead incursion to the north, where scourge magics had fallen on a crypt, raising the dead. A series of bright pulses, likely that of a ley-amplified arcane cannon were reported by soldiers and conscripted refugees were held back from engaging undead position until the bombardment had ceased. The weapons are likely to have been fired by the Spire's Caretaker, Ala'nairi Direnni. This Spire's role in this conflict, known today as the Battle of the Blightwood, is the only such activation of the Dal'felo Spire's defenses that has been well documented, though long term residents in the surrounding Central Highlands forest speak of occasional such pulses, likely tests of what appear to be medium-range arcane weapons, formidable defenses, and rapid golem deployment both via portal and land means. The Blightwood was ultimately secured and fortified against future incursion when Bailan Guard officer activated portal stones, moving in a large number of large, white Thalassian golems from the Spire. The Spire's activation and elven push which followed halted the undead threatening the north of Ashal'Thalas, and prevented their entering the lush Central Highlands Forest, limiting the blight to a small region of northern Ashal'Thalas now known as the Blightwood. The measures deployed by the Tower during the battle however suited a conflict that was several miles away and with elven troops needing support, and much of what the Spire can do in areas such as divination or teleportation remains a mystery to most. Arcanists whom have worked on the spire describe it as magically versatile. The Troll War activation speaks of empowering pylons to ward the southern, Amani facing coast, suggesting the Spire has the means to transfer arcane to other locations, possibly using the same focal array as when fired as a weapon, but with a lower intensity beam and suitable receptacle. Rumors circulate regarding portals in the spire to unknown worlds, timeways, or pocket dimensions, rumors House Firesong denies, with the exception ot The Arshaz, the prison dimension to which Lord Firesong confirmed the Dal'felo Spire has either a portal to or the means to establish one. However with Entilzha Firesong especially fond of portal magics, there's little doubt it holds portal spells to many more locations than is commonly known. The amplified ley energy flowing through the Spire can be directed to maintain a number of stable two-way portals without a mage maintaining them, though portals are seldom left open for long, and the Spire's formidable wards block most outside teleportation magic. The Dal'felo Conundrum The grandson of Lor'saniel Firesong II, Lord Arcanist Kuran Firesong, took power in Ashal'Thalas a few centuries after the Troll Wars. Kuran had earned his reputation among the diviners of Silvermoon, fascinated by the notions of scrying other worlds deeply fascinated the elf. The legacy of his grandfather Lor'saniel, having passed to an elaborate funeral when Kuran was but a child, and he thought often to the Troll Wars and the Dal'felo Spire, expressing a desire. Kurzan's spellbooks, personal diaries, and the sort, are largely absent from Firesong records, though a tome from his childhood shows a deep affinity for long distance scrying. Kurzan was a deeply respected High Arcanist of the Arkhana'dorah and with his top arcanists and diviners from Silvermoon, was reported in the journals of guards, aides, and apprentices, to spend days, sometimes weeks in the deep spire. Though not apparent at first, in times since, its been noted that the Dal'felo Spire's arcane availability exceeds that of the ley nexus and adjacent flows powering it. Many theories have been presented for the anomaly, from a powerful Highborne lodestone uncovered by Kurzan, concealed deep in the spire, its energies dispersed among the whole, to a being of pure arcane bound to the magics of the spire. Most seem to think that Kurzan and his allies conducted an empowerment ritual of some sort, something they'd not recorded, as Firesong and Arkhana'dorah records of the period are notably vague. Something concealed physically in the spire would very likely not have withstood the scrutiny of future lords, each seeking to solve the puzzle. Xarian believed the oddities simply the combination of so many Firesong Lords so deeply magically tied to the spire, Entilzha Firesong as a leywalker, works to isolate the source and any physical location or focus of the unexplained energy, hoping as many of his ancestors did, to solve the puzzle once and for all. With the aid of Shal'dorei ally Morgane Devaux, Entilzha hopes to arrive at an explanation for this very odd aspect of the spire, if one that proved useful during the scourge invasion of the north, in which the spire was able to focus inferno beams over a distance of several miles, with a recharge time of mere minutes, decimating scourge attempts to enter the valleys near the spire, which remain pristine and natural. Many Lords have taken the view of Lord Xarian; the spire is magically unique as so many minds have molded it, and Kurzan found a way to enchant or empower the spire beyond what ley mechanics defined. Entilzha is determined to find out why, and the puzzle increasingly peaks Morgane's interest as well. Worlds Collide When Argus suddenly appeared looming in the skies over Azeroth, Jandyssa Firesong was nearing the end of her pregnancy with their son, Xarian Thalon Firesong II, fearing a collision as did many others. Entilzha Firesong soon had rings of crystals levitating near or rotating about the Dal'felo Spire, described by Entilzha as part of a defensive mechanism, likely a means of teleporting the spire, whether partially, wholly, or in segments is not clear, to a location presumably not on Azeroth. The Spire has been on continuous alert since the torn world has appeared in the skies, with shields rotating to position themselves between the Spire and the alien world, a display that can also be used to conceal its appearance to the eye. The upper spire has been fitted with a mirrored telescope used to survey the surface of Argus, with Entilzha and others often divining the surface of the planet and the energies surrounding it. Current Use Lord Arcanist Entilzha Firesong and his wife Jandyssa Firesong make prominent use of the Spire, returning there near nightly as often does Entilzha's young daughter, Ysandre Firesong. The upper balconies are commonly used for private, but sometimes large, gatherings, above the private chambers of Entilzha and Morgane Devaux, whom has taken up the long unused position as Prime Consort. The mid-spire is believed to contain the largest open spaces within the spire, and is likely plays an important role in the Spire's ley ampliication. Areas are rumored to be used for arcane research, but the nature of magical work is, as it has been, closely guarded, though the production of anima golems and other constructs from the site indicate modifications from the traditional Thalassian designs the spire is known for, though it still produces many of those. As a master abjurer and leywalker, Entilzha's wards are extensive, and few see above the first two levels, though Entilzha will often receive petitioners from throughout Ashal'Thalas in the audience chamber, and a ballroom is suited for formal events as wedding galas. The Dal'felo complex is believed to House vaults, likely built among the oldest remaining tructures. The modern Dal'felo Spire generates ley updraft much as an arcane sanctum, though Entilzha has spoke of a paradox, having stated the tower's energies are stronger than can be accounted for by ley energies. The truthfulness of this statement or what it means is very much in doubt, but with a deep arcane and personal attunement, the Dal'felo Spire is the heart of Entilzha's physical, emotional, and arcane soul, and by far the last place an adversary would seek to face him. Since taking command of the Silvermoon Reliquary, the spire has often been the site of private meetings of its leadership and staff, likely due to the privacy afforded. Arkhana'dorah The secretive Arkhana'dorah, the Arcane Order of Ashal'Thalas is believed to be based in the Dal'felo Spire. Founded in the early days of Ashal'Thalas under Lord Solanar Firesong I, arcane secrets held from House Firesong's time in Vash'jir are cultivated by the magi, typically also Magisters of Silvermoon and effectively the elite of House Firesong's mage corps, with numbers capped strictly at one hundred. The Circle, as its known, is believed to have long met within the spire, using portal to enter and exit unseen, and while many of its strongest mages were lost in the invasion, Lord Entilzha Firesong has made restoring the Circle a priority of his rule. Reliquary Southern Chapter The Reliquary's Southern Chapter is led by Lord Firesong, whom has devoted a number of the spire's floors to the unclear activities of the Reliquary both under his direct command and units working in conjunction. Entilzha has long used the Spire to store valuable and magically sensitive items, and its compliment of magi is by no means a full one, however as the allocated residential and work spaces sit in the highly restricted upper tower, most are assigned quarters in Silvermoon or elsewhere, though a number of senior Reliquary arcanists close to Lord Firesong have taken up residence in the newly rubbed Reliquary Wing. Morgane Devaux Entilzha's fiance, Morgane Devaux, formerly an arcanist of the Court of Suramar, moved to the spire in order to reside in Ashal'Thalas and start a family with her soon to be husband. Morgane's personal space is second only to that of her fiance, though after their marriage intend to make much a mutual space. Beforehand however Entilzha remains highly respectful, treating Morgane's floors as if her private home. Entilzha and Morgane each strongly desire children, and wish for them to grow up among the outdoors, as Entilzha's daughrer, Ysandre Firesong does, by age seven spending relatively little time in the spire, and much more outdoors. The couple plans a home at Belore'aran among both the forest and Morgane's kin, and are refurbishing the Southern Sanctum, an old, Quel'dorei style sanctum about a mile south of the Dal'felo Spire deep in the Central Highlands forest, though the couple fully intends to maintain the spire as their formal seat and a haven in which they spend much of their private time.